


Some Rules Are Meant To Be Broken

by multifandommess



Category: South Park
Genre: Gen, M/M, Since I couldn't remember if the game went into detail about Stan's backstory, Stick of Truth AU, Tales of Zaron zine, The relationship could be read as friendship or shippy, not necessarily canon compliant
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-18
Updated: 2019-11-18
Packaged: 2021-02-08 07:37:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,508
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21472396
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/multifandommess/pseuds/multifandommess
Summary: Most days, Kyle was proud to rule over the Elven Kingdom. Some days, however, Kyle just wished he could be a normal person without the weight of a kingdom on his shoulders--but thankfully his loyal knight Stanley was always willing to indulge him and assist in a little harmless mischief to remind him that no matter what their responsibilities and duties were, they were both still kids in the end.
Relationships: Kyle Broflovski & Stan Marsh, Kyle Broflovski/Stan Marsh
Kudos: 46
Collections: Tales of Zaron - A South Park Zine





	Some Rules Are Meant To Be Broken

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the [Tales Of Zaron zine](https://sp-talesofzaronzine.tumblr.com/)! It was really fun to get to write for South Park again after what feels like forever, and it was an absolute joy to get to work with all of the other incredibly talented authors and artists in the zine--especially my friend Yarisei, who was kind enough to pair up with me and draw an absolutely gorgeous piece of artwork to go with my fic! I'll add a link to view her art as soon as it's posted ^^

The Elven Kingdom was a proud, flourishing land, populated by elves that lived in harmony with the bountiful nature surrounding them and ruled over by a benevolent Elven family for generations.

That longstanding history of peace was shattered by the discovery of the ultimate power, sealed within the most unassuming form: The Stick.

Such a harmless-looking item sparked war and turmoil between the Elves and the Humans, with each side clamoring to obtain the vessel of limitless power for their nation and their people--and among the casualties claimed were the beloved King and Queen Broflovski of the Elven kingdom, leaving poor Prince Kyle of nine years to take their place as the next in line for the throne.

Kyle never would have felt confident to step up and fill his parents’ shoes at such a young age had it not been for the reassuring presence of his stalwart guard Stan, supporting him from his place of two years by Kyle's side as a prodigal swordsman accepted by even the most hardened veterans despite his young age.

Right about now, though, Kyle just wished that he could be outside with Stan on the training field instead of trapped in a stuffy room with his tutor, half-listening to a lecture as his gaze remained fixed on the sunlight shining through the window nearby.

Kyle loved his kingdom, he truly did. He was proud to step up and rule in his parents’ stead, and he generally considered himself an intelligent kid--but being forced to do nothing but study, day in and day out for months with only mealtimes and bedtime to rest, was beginning to wear him down emotionally.

He never realized how much he'd taken being a kid for granted until he was forced to grow up.

The tutor announcing that he could take a break pulled Kyle from his thoughts, and the young King wasted no time in shooting up out of his seat. He was so focused on putting distance between himself and his tutor that he didn't notice the person turning the corner until they'd collided with one another.

“Whoa-- my Lord!” Stan quickly reached out to steady Kyle, a concerned frown on his face. “Are you alright?”

“Ah, yes, I'm fine.” Kyle straightened out his robe as soon as he’d regained his balance. “Sorry, I wasn't paying attention.”

Stan looked Kyle over, his troubled expression unfaltering--in fact, he seemed to grow more worried as he took in the clear stress lines on Kyle's face and the exhaustion in his eyes.

“If I may be so forward, my Lord… let's sneak out and go outside for the day.”

Stan’s words caused Kyle to pause, his eyes widening in startled shock. It was rare for him to make such a brazen suggestion, yet Stan showed no signs of retracting the offer, nor did he seem apologetic about it in any way.

“It’s my duty as your personal guard to look after not just your physical health, but your mental health too,” Stan continued. “And as your friend,” he added, his expression softening slightly into a sheepish smile more fitting of someone his age, “I want to do something to help you relax a bit. Sneaking out for the day to have a bit of fun sounds much better than being stuck inside studying again, right?”

When Stan phrased it like that, how could Kyle refuse?

A grin slowly spread across Kyle’s face, one that Stan hadn’t seen for far too long and was relieved to see--just as he was relieved to see the spark that returned to Kyle’s eyes, one that had been muted under the stress of trying to become the ruler that everyone needed him to be.

“You know what? Screw going back to studying. Let’s do it.”

* * *

There was a certain thrill to sneaking around, even just within the confines of his own castle.

A childish sense of mischief mixed with heart-pounding adrenaline filled Kyle as he stuck close to Stan, the two of them ducking behind anything and everything they could find that could serve as cover, especially as the Elves began to take notice of Kyle’s absence and actively searched for him. Each time someone approached, the two would hold their breath, waiting for the footsteps to pass by without anyone discovering them before letting their relief out in tandem, nervous giggling eventually turning to impish snickering as they grew more self-assured in their quest.

After a few more minutes of repeatedly running from hiding spot to hiding spot, the front door finally came into view, and the two of them quickly rushed outside with no one any the wiser to their escape.

“We made it.” Kyle let out a quiet, breathless laugh.

Stan gave his friend an amused smile. “Not quite.” At Kyle’s confused look, Stan gestured to the guards in front of the gate leading out into the forest. “We still have to get past them.”

Kyle groaned, allowing Stan to lead him to another hiding spot even as he grumbled, “This castle feels more like a prison than a home sometimes.”

“It’s for your safety, my Lord.” Stan replied distractedly, searching for somewhere that they could hide for the moment.

Kyle huffed stubbornly. “I have you, isn’t that enough?”

Stan paused, embarrassment coloring his cheeks lightly even as a pleased grin tugged at the corners of his lips. “I’m honored by your faith in me, my Lord.”

“C’mon, you know I don’t like it when you call me that.” Kyle lightly nudged Stan with his shoulder as he led him into the nearby bushes. “At least not when it’s just us.”

Stan rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. “Force of habit, sorry.” He turned his gaze over to the guards in front of the gate. “So, any ideas how to get past them?”

Kyle’s brows furrowed in thought, the two of them falling silent as they struggled to come up with a solution.

“W-well, what a sur-- surprise. Didn’t think I’d fi-- fi-- find you two out here like this.”

Their heads shot up in startled unison, surprised to find the castle’s youngest bard looking down at them with an amused smile.

“Jimmy?” Kyle said. “Why are you-- how did you know we were here?”

“It’s kind of h-hard to miss a puff of red hair st-- st-- sticking out of the bushes,” Jimmy teased, his amusement growing as Kyle blushed and reached up to push his unruly hair down around his wooden crown. “So, what were you t-- t-two up to out here? A secret ren-- a secret rende-- a secret rendezvous between the King and his loyal g-guard?”

“Of course not!” “It’s not like that!”

Jimmy laughed. “Don’t get your p-panties in a twist, you two. I was just teasing.” He lifted his lute for the two to see as he said, “You were talking about distracting the guards, right? W-well then, I’m your ma-- your man.”

“You’ll help us?” Kyle asked incredulously. “Just like that?”

“Anything for a couple of pals, your M-Majesty,” Jimmy replied, giving Kyle and Stan a grin before making his way towards the guards, the pair ducking back down in the bushes as Jimmy called out to the guards, “Hey fe-- fellas! Wanna hear my new song?”

It took hardly a few minutes for the guards to become caught up in Jimmy’s performance, and Stan and Kyle took the opportunity to slip past them and out to the forest, catching Jimmy’s eye on the way out and smiling in thanks as he shot them a wink.

* * *

“It’s been a long time since we were last here, hasn’t it?”

Kyle glanced over at Stan, noting the nostalgia in both his tone and his soft expression and feeling a similar swell of sentimentality as he nodded.

“Yeah… hard to believe it’s been almost three years.”

“You were so stubborn, even back then,” Stan continued with a fond smile as he lightly bumped his shoulder against Kyle’s.

Kyle huffed, his gaze warm despite his annoyed tone as he replied, “That stubbornness is what saved your life, you know.”

“Of course I know.” Stan replied, his expression turning serious. “Not a single day passes without my gratitude.”

Kyle covered up his embarrassment with a shrug. “After this long I think we can call it even.” Before Stan could protest, he pressed on. “Still, I never expected to find a Human fighting off other Humans.”

“And I never expected an Elven prince to come to my rescue,” Stan responded, smiling wryly as he added, “I didn’t expect to catch you when you tried to get down from the tree you were in, either.”

Kyle grimaced, his face flushing lightly. “I just lost my balance!”

“I dunno, you haven’t gotten much better at getting up or down trees since then from what I’ve seen,” Stan teased, before blinking in startled confusion as Kyle suddenly rushed off to the nearest tree. “My L-- Kyle, what are you doing?”

“Proving you wrong!” Kyle called over his shoulder as he set his crown on the ground, rolling up the sleeves of his robe before beginning to climb.

Stan was caught between worry and amusement as he ran after his friend, setting his sword aside before climbing up after him. He couldn’t help but laugh as he quickly caught up to Kyle, who huffed and stubbornly tried to climb faster, inadvertently turning it into a race to the top of the tree.

However, the race was quickly cut short as Kyle suddenly lost his grip, and Stan immediately jumped and grabbed his friend to shield him before they both hit the ground.

“Are… you okay…?” Stan asked, grimacing at the sore pain in his back from the rough landing.

“Of course I’m okay, you idiot! I’m the one who should be asking you that!” Kyle looked Stan over worriedly, only to find himself both angry and bewildered as Stan grinned up at him.

“Told’ja you’re bad at climbing trees.”

Kyle stared, stunned for a moment, before ducking his head as laughter began to bubble up, the sound of Stan’s laughter joining in making his own harder to suppress.

“You’re an ass,” Kyle managed to get out through his laughter, rolling off of Stan to lie next to him. “But seriously… thank you.”

Stan shot Kyle a cheeky grin. “For pointing out that you can’t climb trees?”

“For catching me, you jerk,” Kyle responded with a roll of his eyes, his expression softening slightly as he continued. “And for all of today--I didn’t realize how badly I needed to just get away for a bit and have some fun. I feel a lot better now, so… thanks.”

Stan reached out to take Kyle’s hand in his own, smiling as he gave it a light squeeze. “That’s what best friends are for, right?”

Kyle gave Stan’s hand a squeeze in return as his eyes drifted shut.

“Yeah.”

He wasn’t sure how long the two of them laid together, the sounds of the forest lulling them into a half-asleep state, but in the back of his mind Kyle knew that they should really start heading back to the castle sometime soon.

“Hey, you fellas okay?”

Startled by the sudden voice, the two suddenly scrambled to their feet, Stan wasting no time in grabbing his sword off the ground even as the concerned-looking blond paladin stumbled backwards with his hands held up.

“Sorry! I don’t mean no harm to his Majesty, honest! I just saw you fellas layin’ around, a-and I wanted to make sure you weren’t hurt or nothin’!”

Kyle’s eyes widened in recognition as he rose to his feet. “You’re the Princess’s knight, aren’t you? Paladin Butters?”

“Yessir!” Butters puffed out his chest proudly, before yelping and taking a step back as Stan pointed his sword at him.

“What is the Princess’s knight doing here?” Stan questioned. “This is--”

“Neutral territory, in case you’ve forgotten,” another voice spoke up, interrupting Stan.

Stepping forward from behind a nearby tree was the unmistakable figure of Princess Kenny, her smile both amused and a touch mischievous as she moved over to her knight’s side, leaning against him and lightly running her finger along his chest as she said, “Surely you two have no place to speak when you’ve come here for the same reason as us.”

“That’s not--” “It’s not like that--”

Kenny muffled a giggle behind her hand as she watched their embarrassed floundering.

“The same reason…? Oh!” Butters smiled, perking up in realization. “So you wanted to get away from the castle for a bit too, your Majesty? Princess Kenny doesn’t like bein’ cooped up in a boring place like that for too long, so we go out to get some air together sometimes.”

Kenny sighed, patting her oblivious knight’s chest as she straightened up. “I was trying to have a little fun with them, Leo.”

“Oh, um, sorry?”

Kyle huffed, shooting the Princess an annoyed look as he tried to ignore the embarrassed heat lingering in his cheeks. “For your information, we were just about to leave--and if you tell anyone you saw us here….”

“You don’t have to worry about that, _ your Majesty _,” Kenny replied teasingly. “You saw me here too, you know--I’ll keep your secret if you keep mine, one rebellious royal to another?”

Kyle eyed her warily before sighing and shaking her hand to seal the deal.

“Save travels, you two.” Kenny smiled and blew them a kiss teasingly as she added, “Try not to have too much fun on your way back~”

Stan stiffly turned away from the Princess and her knight to hide his embarrassment, ignoring Butters bidding them farewell as he gestured for Kyle to follow him.

“Let’s hurry back before it gets any later, my Lord.”

Though not eager in the slightest to return to the castle, Kyle nodded and picked up his crown off the ground, carefully putting it back onto his head before giving his best friend a smile.

“Alright, I’m ready. Let’s go.”

* * *

“Do you two have any idea how worried we all were?”

Kyle winced from his spot next to Stan, who stepped up to defend him only to end up flinching and ducking his head as one of the elders shot him a stern look.

“You know it’s forbidden to leave the castle on your own!” Another of the elders added, stepping forward with a displeased frown. “Leaving the castle unsupervised is dangerous! What if something had happened to you, your Majesty?”

As the elders continued going off on the two of them for being so reckless and irresponsible, Kyle glanced over at Stan, surprised to find a smile tugging at the corners of his lips--and even more surprising was the smile that he had to fight off in response once their eyes met.

Despite all the trouble they were in, Kyle couldn’t bring himself to regret his and Stan’s decision.

In the end, he supposed, some rules were just meant to be broken.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! I hope you all enjoyed it, and make sure to go check out the other fics in the collection and show them some love too ^^
> 
> Also, if you enjoyed the fics, please consider picking up a copy of the zine for yourself [here](https://gumroad.com/thetalesofzaronzine)! Preorders will be open from November 17th to December 17th and will come with a preorder-exclusive print, and general sales will be open from December 20th to January 20th! o/


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